


Tropes and Trigger Warnings

by enigmaticblue



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, First Time, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Metafiction, Trope Bingo Round 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 10:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2266005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers discover fanfiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tropes and Trigger Warnings

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the trope_bingo prompt “metafiction." Inspired in part by Mark Ruffalo's response to Science Bros, and by Ms. Marvel and Kamala Khan. You'll note the shout out.

Bruce shifts uncomfortably on the hard wooden stool, sweating a little under the bright, hot lights of the studio. He thinks this is a terrible idea, and he’s said as much, multiple times, but Fury had been insistent. Everybody has been asking who the Avengers are since the Battle of Manhattan, and so they’re doing interviews.

 

Even Bruce.

 

“So, tell me, Dr. Banner, what is it like turning into the Hulk?” Tina asks.

 

This is why Bruce hadn’t wanted to talk to the press. He’d known he was going to get stupid questions. “It’s difficult at best, and very painful. I try not to transform if at all possible.”

 

“But you were instrumental in stopping the alien invasion,” Tina says.

 

Bruce decides not to quibble about whether it was really _him_ , since it’s nearly impossible to explain how he and the Other Guy are the same and not the same, even if they share a body. “I had a lot of help. It was a team effort.”

 

“And now there are so many fans!” Tina gushes.

 

Bruce manages what’s probably a sickly smile. “We’re grateful for the support.”

 

“Have you read any of the fanfiction that’s out there?” Tina asks.

 

Bruce blinks. “Um, what?”

 

“Stories about you and the rest of the Avengers,” Tina replies.

 

Bruce stiffens, suddenly wishing for more questions about the Other Guy. “That’s…nice?”

 

“In fact, after your spectacular save of Mr. Stark, there’s a growing number of stories about your relationship,” Tina says, her smile a little sharp, like she’s fishing for a reaction.

 

Bruce is pretty sure that no one knows about their relationship—such as it is, since it mostly involves Tony flirting with him shamelessly and Bruce resolutely resisting.

 

Mostly resolutely, anyway. Bruce knows he’s pretty close to giving in, but he kind of enjoys making Tony work for it. Not that he’s going to say anything about that.

 

“We’re friends,” Bruce says carefully.

 

Tina pulls out what looks like a drawing, and Bruce fumbles for his glasses, leaning a little closer to get a better look. The cartoon is obviously of him and Tony, and Tony is leaning into Bruce, offering a bag of what looks like gummy worms. There’s an undeniable sexual undercurrent.

 

“It’s a very good drawing,” Bruce offers, uncertain what else to say about it.

 

“There are quite a few of them out there,” Tina says, a little gleefully. “Quite a few people seem to think that you and Mr. Stark might have something going on now that he and Ms. Potts are no longer dating.”

 

Bruce senses a trap. If he denies it outright, or if he says the wrong thing, he might look like a homophobe. If he’s evasive, people will assume they’re together. If Bruce does embark on a relationship with Tony, he doesn’t want to start it on the local morning news show.

 

“You know, it’s really a very good drawing,” Bruce says. “Could I take it with me? We’re supposed having a team dinner tonight.”

 

Tina doesn’t seem to know what to do with that. “Sure, that would be fine.”

 

“Actually, I’d really like to talk about some of the initiatives the Avengers have started to address homelessness and poverty,” Bruce says with a smile.

 

Tina acquiesces with good grace. “Of course. I’ve heard that you have been very vocal in your support of local domestic violence shelters.”

 

~~~~~

 

If Bruce thought that would be the end of it, he hadn’t counted on Tony’s utter fascination with the public’s response to the Avengers.

 

Not the regular media, mind you. Tony treats reporters exactly as he had before he’d become Iron Man. It’s the public that fascinates Tony—their adulation, their speculation, everything.

 

It makes sense, in a way, that Tony would embrace Avengers fans with an unholy glee, especially when he can use it to a) flirt with Bruce, b) needle Steve, or c) make someone uncomfortable.

 

No, Bruce returns to the Tower with a sense of relief, only to be pounced upon by Tony immediately. “Let me see it,” Tony says.

 

Bruce rolls his eyes. “Really?”

 

“No, it was great. Let me see.” Tony makes grabby hands at him, and Bruce holds out the drawing. “I’m going to frame this.”

 

“You’re ridiculous,” Bruce replies, but he can’t help the fond smile that crosses his face.

 

Tony grins at him. “Oh, wait until you see the other stuff I found.”

 

Bruce puts a hand over his face. “Oh, God.”

 

“No, it’s great!” Tony insists. “Bruce, there are erotic stories about _Steve_.”

 

Bruce stares at him. “You read them?”

 

Tony scoffs. “No, of course not. Well, only enough so that I could copy and paste the best parts to send to him.”

 

“You mean the most embarrassing parts,” Bruce accuses.

 

Tony grins. “My only regret is that I won’t be a fly on that wall.”

 

“We have to eat dinner with him tonight,” Bruce protests.

 

Tony smirks. “Fifty bucks says he won’t be able to look Natasha in the eye.”

 

Bruce looks up at the ceiling. “Please tell me that you didn’t send Steve erotica involving him and Natasha.”

 

“That would be a lie,” Tony says.

 

Bruce sighs. “Then no, I won’t take that bet, and on your head be it.”

 

Tony grins. “Come on, Bruce. Have some fun with this.”

 

Bruce shakes his head. “I have work to do.”

 

He does manage to get some work done, and Tony mostly leaves him alone, but then he gets an email with a link.

 

Bruce is a little hesitant to click on it, but he knows that Tony will probably bug him until he does, so he swallows his worry.

 

After a moment, Bruce realizes that he’s reading a story about himself and Tony, and it’s—well, it’s more than a little graphic. Bruce shuts down the window quickly, his face flaming.

 

“I’ve unleashed a monster,” Bruce mutters, even though it’s not really his fault.

 

Dinner that night probably would have been more awkward but Natasha is the first to arrive, and she gets into Tony’s face immediately. “Start sending me pictures or stories, and I will feed you your own entrails. Mention it even one time tonight, and I will ensure that you never have sex again.”

 

Tony gulps audibly. “I hear you.”

 

“We’re clear?” Natasha presses.

 

“Crystal.”

 

She gives a satisfied nod. “Good.”

 

Dinner passes a lot more peacefully than Bruce had expected, but when they’ve finished eating, it’s Clint who brings it up. “So, this fanfiction thing? Has anybody read it? Personally, my favorite stories are where everybody is sleeping with everybody else.”

 

Thor is the only Avenger who couldn’t make it, and Bruce is a little disappointed, because Thor would probably think it all good fun, or maybe that it was just some strange Earth custom.

 

“You would think that,” Natasha says repressively.

 

Tony smirks, apparently deciding that since Clint had brought it up, he could continue along that line. “We’re all hot, right? Why wouldn’t we be sleeping with each other?”

 

“Maybe because I wouldn’t sleep with any of you?” Natasha asks. “Except maybe for Bruce.”

 

Bruce blinks. “What?”

 

“You’re the one least likely to be smug about it later,” Natasha replies. “Well, Steve wouldn’t be, but I prefer someone with experience.”

 

“Hey!” Steve protests, having stayed quiet until this point. Natasha turns to him with a raised eyebrow, and he flushes and slides down in his seat. “I have _some_ experience. I was on the road with a bunch of chorus girls for _months_.”

 

“Good for you, Cap,” Tony replies. “I’m sure there’s probably a story out there about your time touring with the USO.”

 

Steve puts his hands over his face. “Oh, please, no.”

 

“Okay!” Bruce says loudly. “Who wants to watch a movie? Because I _really_ want to watch a movie, and if we don’t change the subject soon, I might get angry.”

 

It’s not the first time he’s used that edge, but this time it’s without even a little bit of guilt.

 

~~~~~

 

Of course, that doesn’t stop Tony, although he sticks to stories and art that are PG-13 in nature. In spite of himself, Bruce starts learning the lingo, and just about everything Tony sends him is labeled “pre-slash” and “hurt/comfort,” and there’s everything from “cuddling for warmth” to “genderswap.”

 

He learns about tropes and trigger warnings, and there’s even one story Tony sends him involving whipped cream and handcuffs that gives Bruce the kind of ideas he’s tried very hard not to entertain, but—

 

No. Just no.

 

If Tony is trying to woo him through stories written by other people, it isn’t going to work. Tony is actually going to have to come right out and _ask_ Bruce on a date.

 

Steve storms into Bruce’s lab a week after their team dinner and says, “Please, please, tell Tony not to send me anymore emails!”

 

Bruce takes a deep breath, and thinks it doesn’t bode well if people are coming to him to rein Tony in. “What is he doing?”

 

“He’s sending me—what do you call it—fanfiction!” Steve says. “I mean, sure, I could get why it was funny at first, but I don’t want to read about my supposedly intimate relationship with Thor.”

 

Bruce can’t help it; he starts laughing. “I’m sorry,” he says immediately. “I’m really sorry, it’s just—it can’t be worse than what Tony is sending me.”

 

Steve stares, and then he grins. “Sorry, doc.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Bruce replies. “I’m learning a lot. Actually, look at this.”

 

He pulls up one of the links that Tony had sent, this one far less pornographic than the others. It’s a cartoon of all the Avengers around a table, eating dinner, and it’s really fucking adorable.

 

“Hey, that’s pretty great,” Steve says. “Are there more out there like that?”

 

Bruce’s new expertise serves him well, and he finds a few other cartoons that are G-rated and kind of adorable, and Steve says, “We should get together more often. As a team, I mean.”

 

“That sounds good,” Bruce admits. “I’ll try to rein Tony in.”

 

Steve’s comment gets Bruce looking for other things that are team-themed, because he thinks he might at least be able to balance out the graphic things Tony is sending with stuff that won’t give Steve a coronary.

 

And, almost in spite himself, Bruce gets drawn in by a story by someone named kamala14 involving the whole team. The interactions are far less fraught than is typical of their real lives, but Bruce realizes that the story has the kind of camaraderie he wishes they had.

 

Bruce stares at his computer monitor for a long moment, and then he clears his browser history and says, “Jarvis? Where’s Tony?”

 

“In his workshop, sir,” Jarvis replies. “Should I let him know you’re coming?”

 

Bruce smiles at Jarvis’ wording. “No, I think I’d like to surprise him.”

 

Tony glances up when Bruce enters. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit, Dr. Banner?”

 

“You have to stop sending things to Steve,” Bruce insists. “It’s bugging him.”

 

Tony smirks. “That’s kind of the point.”

 

“If you want something, why don’t you come right out with it?” Bruce says.

 

Tony’s eyes narrow. “What are you talking about?”

 

“Look, if you want to ask me out on a date, like a serious, real date, just do it,” Bruce says. “But courting me through stories written by other people doesn’t work for me.”

 

Tony blinks. “Wait. That’s a yes? You’re interested.”

 

“Of course I’m interested in you!” Bruce exclaims. “I just wasn’t sure you were serious.”

 

“I am,” Tony says.

 

Bruce lets out a breath. “Okay, then I will date you if you promise to stop sending me links to stories, and will promise to stop sending Steve stuff as well.” He pauses. “Unless it’s G-rated and will improve team morale.”

 

Tony gives him a disgruntled look. “You’re spoiling my fun.”

 

“Chances are, if we’re dating, I can probably make it up to you,” Bruce points out.

 

Tony shrugs. “Fair enough. So, we’re dating now?”

 

“Well, there were a few stories that really got me thinking,” Bruce admits. “Although, I’m going to have to insist on nothing that requires a trigger warning, but there are a few tropes I wouldn’t mind trying out.”

 

“Let me guess,” Tony says. “You’re thinking whipped cream and handcuffs.”

 

Bruce rolls his eyes. “I knew there was a reason you sent me that story.”

 

Tony grins. “It worked, didn’t it?”

 

“You’re insane,” Bruce replies. “Do you promise not to send anything to Steve?”

 

Tony shrugs. “I got the rise out of him that I wanted.”

 

“Then come here,” Bruce orders, and pulls Tony in for a kiss.

 

He has more than a few things he wants to try.


End file.
